Review: Graffiti Moon

Title: Graffiti Moon

Author: Cath Crowley

Publication Date: August 1st 2010

Length: 264 pages (Paperback)

Synopsis from Goodreads:

It’s the end of Year 12. Lucy’s looking for Shadow, the graffiti artist everyone talks about.

His work is all over the city, but he is nowhere.

Ed, the last guy she wants to see at the moment, says he knows where to find him. He takes Lucy on an all-night search to places where Shadow’s thoughts about heartbreak and escape echo around the city walls.

But the one thing Lucy can’t see is the one thing that’s right before her eyes.

Review:

Graffiti Moon is a perfect example of why you should always give books a chance to prove themselves.

Always.

When I first saw Graffiti Moon at the library, I almost put it right back down on the shelf. Sure, I’d had it on my Goodreads to-read shelf since 2011, but did I really still want to read it? You know how it can be when you wait too long to read a certain book, and to make it even worse, the library had the awful paperback Hodder Children’s Books-edition. But oh what the hell, I thought. Ain’t got nothin’ to lose.

So I took it with me.

This was actually the very same day I got news about a surprise boat trip (I’m not particularly fond of those), and for a while I deliberated whether I should take it with me, or leave it at home. Oh, why not? I’m going to need something to read after I finish Behemoth and Goliath, my brain reasoned. You’re going on a journey, little book fellow!

Two days later, as I read the very last line of the very last page of Goliath, I realised that I needed something to fill the empty void that was killing me inside. I needed a new book pronto, and poor little Graffiti Moon had to fill the undesirable role of the rebound-book. This is always tough to begin with, and the fact that I was already hesitant certainly didn’t help. I almost didn’t get past the first chapter.

That’s actually one of my biggest faults when it comes to reading. If a book isn’t interesting after, let me see, three chapters maybe, then there’s a risk I’ll put it down and never look back.

When I pick up a contemporary novel, I want it to have at least two of these three qualities:

Well developed, enjoyable, and realistic characters (especially the main character).
An interesting plot
Humour and/or sadness. I want to feel something when I read. It doesn’t matter whether it’s happiness or sorrow, or any other feeling − it only has to be something (anger is acceptable as well, as long as it’s not the kind that makes me want to set the book on flames…ehehe..he..).

(This makes me sound super-picky, but I assure you, it’s not that often I give up on books)

First of all, if I don’t enjoy the voice of the person telling the story, or if she/he is boring, flat or, to be honest, stupid (sorry), I will most likely not finish the book. If I can’t stand the main character, and if every sentence make me want to roll my eyes, there’s no freaking point in wasting any more time.

Secondly, if the plot isn’t interesting, I’ll have nothing to propel me forward but my own determination, and if it’s really bad, there’s a chance I’ll decide it’s not worth the effort.

And last but not least, if it doesn’t leave any kind of mark on me, I won’t remember it, and as a result I will never ever recommend it to my friends (or enemies). Ever.

Luckily, Graffiti Moon had all of these three things! :D (Yay!)

This book was so unbelievably funny, sweet, and different. It was beautiful and…well, weird.

Don’t get me wrong, I like weird. Weird characters are the funniest and most memorable. Weird couples are the most interesting. Weird surprises me. Weird makes me laugh. Weird is good.

(I mean, it can be bad. There’s a line you shouldn’t cross)

Lucy, who was my favourite character, stayed on the healthy, enjoyable side of weird. She was weird in the sense that she always said what she was thinking, drew things in the air to add them to reality, was able to talk about art and chocolate in the same breath, and had a helmet with a lightning bolt on it. She didn’t care what other people thought, and simply was herself instead.

Good thing Ed was kind of weird himself, because it led to some hilarious conversations between them. They both had something to bring to the story, and their personalities were so different from each other that they somehow were a perfect match. Opposites attract, you know. ;)

Another big plus, was that I didn’t solely care about Lucy and Ed, but the supporting characters as well. I cared about Lucy’s parents, I cared about Leo and Jazz, and I even cared about Daisy and Dylan. This doesn’t always happen when I read contemporary standalones (especially not those with less than 300 pages), but I love it when it does.

I can’t say I understand much about poetry, or art for that matter (I can only draw what I see), but this book made me get it. It made me fall in love with colours I’ve never seen, and people I’ve never met. It had its fair share of beautifully composed sentences, which I would have gladly highlighted if a) it was my book, and b) I highlighted in my books (which I don’t), and it really made an impression on me.

The only negative thing I have to say, really, is that I sometimes had trouble keeping up with the jumps back and forth in time….but it might just be me and my unfocused self.

Graffiti Moon is a lovely, sweet book with a great balance between funny and sad. It has complex and memorable characters, and the plot is interesting and engaging. If you’re looking for a short, contemporary book, definitely consider giving this one a try. :)

4.5/5 Moustaches